While Jackson C. Frank s eponymous 1965 album and other material has enjoyed numerous official and unofficial reissues, Jackson C Frank: The Complete Recordings is the first to compile his entire recording career. Released in conjunction with Jim Abbott s book, Jackson C. Frank: The Clear Hard Light of Genius, The Complete Recordings contains a total of 67 tracks, 24 of which have never appeared before. Every song has been mastered or remastered, a number of them straight from the original, brittle reel-to-reels on which they were originally laid down. Plagued by tragedy with the most haunting music to show for it, Frank s life can be heard through his music, which has been covered by the likes of Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, John Mayer, and sampled by Nas for Undying Love.

While never fully recognized as one of the great musicians of the 60s, Frank clearly had his fans. The artist s story is a cautionary tale for the dangerous pitfalls of a life lived. At the age of eleven, he was the victim of the infamous Cleveland Hill School Fire in a New York suburb, leaving him burned and disabled, and killing fifteen of his classmates. He spent an agonizing eight months in the hospital, during which time he picked up a guitar for the first time. Scarred both physically and psychologically, and left a shell of his former self, Frank would never fully recover from the wounds. His never-released second album was to include the song Marlene, which honors his childhood girlfriend lost in the fire. After an aborted attempt at college, where he formed a folk trio, Frank, along with a Martin guitar and his then-girlfriend Kathy Henry, caught The Queen Elizabeth in February 1965, on which he apocryphally wrote his first, and now his most famous, song Blues Run the Game. He soon found himself making the rounds of the London folk clubs and rubbed shoulders with Jansch, Renbourn, Roy Harper, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Paxton, Mike Seeger and Sandy Denny (who became Jackson s girlfriend and later wrote the somber song Next Time Around about him). Frank s music caught the interest of another young American songwriter in London named Paul Simon, who offered to record and produce his album Jackson C. Frank in 1965. Simon brought Al Stewart along to play guitar, while Denny, Judith Piepe and Art Garfunkel kept them company (and supposedly even ran out for teas for the performer). After recording his album, however, Frank s health took a turn for the worse and the following years were unkind. He met future wife Elaine Sedgwick, cousin of Edie Sedgwick, at a London party, and when his money began to run out he left London for Woodstock, where they married. The relationship was marked by a miscarriage and the death of their first-born son to cystic fibrosis, and Frank s subsequent mental unraveling. He was later diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and battled excessive weight gain from a thyroid problem developed after the fire. Additionally, he went through bouts of intermittent homelessness between stays at various upstate shelters. One day, while Jackson waited in a park to be moved to a new facility, he was shot and blinded in his left eye by neighborhood children with a BB gun. The light from this period of his life came from Jim Abbott, who looked after Frank until his death in 1999. Frank s recordings span four decades of a hard-lived life, and every experience, every trial, is reflected in his voice. If ever a person s individual journey could be traced through his music, it s Frank s, and The Complete Recordings is nothing less than a representative map of the artist s high points and deepest, most shadowed valleys.

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Brian Jonestown Massacre’s 70 minutes compilation which has misleadingly been called the ‘Peel Sessions’. As we’ve established before, This wasn’t actually recorded for John Peel’s radio show, but it doesn’t matter. This is still a great collection of early favourites. A quality recording of some classic songs. It can be found on one of those dodgy Russian Mp3 sites as a proper album with a track list, and track increments, but don’t ask me to find it now. A really solid batch of tunes, and well worth checking out if you haven’t before.#brianjonestownmassacre#peelsessions#yootoob#bootleg

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At the start of their career Tyrannosaurus Rex had no recording contract but Peel promoted them energetically, mentioning them frequently on air and taking them with him to his gigs in 1967 and 1968. Top Gear’s first producer Bernie Andrews disliked them, but they were booked for a first session on the programme on Peel’s insistence. In late 1967, Track Records rejected some early Tyrannosaurus Rex recordings as “too uncommercial”, causing Peel to express his frustration and to fantasise about issuing a 4 LP set by them on a label of his own which would be called Dandelion Records.But eventually they signed with Regal Zonophone and Peel contributed sleevenotes to their first LP, also reading a fairy story by Bolan at the end of its final track. Bolan became a close friend of Peel and Sheila, but this relationship ended after Bolan became a chart-topping teen idol in 1970-71.

The complete session recorded by T. Rex on 26th October 1970 for John Peel on the Top Gear show on BBC Radio 1 and broadcast on 7th November 1970.

This session by Gang of Four, who many considered to be one of the leading bands in the post-Punk movement. They were together (the first time) from 1977 to 1984 – the second time from 1987 to 1997 and this latest incarnation from 2004 to the present.

There have been several different lineups over the years, with only guitarist Andy Gill as the sole remaining original member. Their debut album, the 1979 Entertainment! has been considered the fifth greatest Punk album of all time. During the 80s though, they drifted away from those roots and wandered in the direction of dance-Punk and Disco. But beyond all the changes and direction shifts, they have maintained strong political and social commitments in their music, and were, even early on, considered a potent force in the pursuit of working-class justice.

Tonight it’s their third session at BBC Radio 1 for John Peel, recorded on March 9, 1981 and broadcast on the March 12th. I remember the band causing a stir with American audiences and were a huge influence with a number of bands, including REM and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and some have gone so far as to say their influence has been felt with a number of rap artists. So they got around.

If you aren’t familiar with Gang Of Four, they are an important link for you to get familiar with. If you are familiar and have been following them for years – I don’t need to tell you anything you don’t already know.

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they were first transmitted on The John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1 on 22nd August 1979.

The complete session recorded at studio number four at BBC Radio‘s Maida Vale Studiosby Echo & The Bunnymen on 15th August 1979 for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and they were first transmitted on The John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1 on 22nd August 1979.

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The complete session recorded by Siouxsie and the Banshees on 6th February 1978 for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and broadcast on the 23rd of that month. This was the second session in the February wrapping up the key elements of the group’s early repertoire, a dry run (and in some places, superior blueprint) for what would become their debut album, The Scream. An indication of the speed at which the Banshees were developing.

Siouxsie Sioux (nee Susan Ballion) (vocals) and Steve Severin (bass) were the constant members of an aggregation that in its best-remembered line-up included John McKay (guitar) and Kenny Morris (drums). Siouxsie had been one of the hangers-on present during the Sex Pistols interview with Bill Grundy.

Well, I'm dyslexic so writing about something I love: Music, might help but it's most likely just full of mistakes. That title is also lyrics from The Drones song called I Don't Want To Change. Oh, my name is William and thanks for having a look.